The Art of Not Being the Source of Your Art
Admit it or not, there’s a thinly veiled arrogance that comes with the pursuit of art.
It may not be the main ingredient, but at the bottom of that recipe there’s always an additional handwritten scribble that says something along the lines of: One pinch of ego.
It’s that dash of ego that convinces us that we can create. That it’s not some otherworldly spell reserved only for rarified demi-gods, but is latent within each of us. Calling it arrogance is a bit of a stretch, but our egos nonetheless are what convince us that we are in fact not only capable of creating art, but are destined to.
When feeling the familiar pull to creation, anyone in the field of the arts may try to convince you — along with themselves — that their ego has nothing to do with it. They claim they’re intrinsically magnetized to manifest their innermost creative potential and dig into their deepest daydreams. As a creator myself, I’d have to agree. I may not let my ego get two hands on the wheel of my artistic pursuits, but at least I’m able to acknowledge that it’s in the car, most likely complaining in the back middle seat squeezed between my intuition and curiosity. They normally just ignore him and keep enjoying the scenery out the window. No, we’re not there yet.
